A hearty attaboy to Lee Spencer, winner of the Wild Steelhead Coalition’s 2018 Conservation Award.
…Of the many steelhead conservation leaders doing critical work throughout the West Coast, Lee was selected by the Wild Steelhead Coalition’s board because of his tremendous contribution to wild steelhead protection in the North Umpqua and his unmatched dedication to the Big Bend Pool on Steamboat Creek. Through his years of stewardship and noteworthy observations of wild steelhead behavior, Lee was not only able to pen his seminal book “A Temporary Refuge” but also provided much needed refuge for the North Umpqua’s invaluable summer steelhead run.
Lee’s demeanor and unselfish attitude to share his knowledge and observations with kindness is exemplary in all who visited Steamboat Creek. In this world fraught with countless conservation challenges, there are some who speak up, fewer who act, and only a handful who do both. Fortunately for all of us, Lee Spencer has dedicated his life to both speaking and acting. Through his printed words and years of devoted action, Lee has been an educator, a champion for wild steelhead, and an inspiration for a new generation of steelhead advocates. The North Umpqua and the world are better places thanks to Lee’s selflessness as well as his dedication to wild fish and the waters they inhabit…
Attaboy.
